Australian police consider probe into suicides among Catholic-school abuse victims

An Australian bishop has said that he sees no need for an investigation into a rash of suicides among the victims of sexual abuse at Catholic schools.

Bishop Peter Connors of Ballarat said that he would not oppose an independent inquiry, but doubted that it would produce results. “I don’t think they’ll learn very much more,” he said, claiming that the Church’s own investigation had been thorough.

Police have voiced special concerns about 26 suicides among young men who were believed to be sex-abuse victims.

Bishop Connors said that the diocesan investigation had shed new light on the problem. “I think we've learnt a lot of things about what is appropriate behavior and what's not appropriate behavior,” he said.

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